Dental prostheses such as dentures can be permanently fixed to or removable from dental implants or existing teeth or roots. For instance, for permanently fixed dentures, the denture, including an artificial gum and teeth structure, is fixed to implants, anchored in the mandible or maxilla osseous portions, and/or existing teeth or roots.
Removable dentures can be attached in several manners. For instance, the denture can include a locking device adapted to lock the denture onto the crown of a tooth. Dentures can also be removably attached to a permanent implant structure. The implant structure typically includes one or several pins implanted directly into the osseous material of the mandible or maxilla. It can further include a metallic arch or bar formed to bridge individual pins together. The denture includes an artificial gum structure adapted to fit snugly over the arch and an attachment device for attaching the denture to the arch. For instance, the attachment system can be achieved by male/female members that are releasable from one another when it is desired to remove the denture from the mandible. A single surface of interference is typically provided between the male and female members, so as to retain the denture onto the mandible. However, due to the pressures exerted during chewing (i.e., high magnitude, from any direction), denture attachment systems having single surfaces of interference can be subjected to the undesired detachment of the denture from the mandible.